Stay
by kwityerbeliaken
Summary: Moana x Maui, silly little fic about their arrival on the island. Might smut it up later, but for now, let's keep it T.
1. Chapter 1

Maui was certain about something. If Moana hadn't been so... so _Moana_ , he definitely wouldn't be feeling as off as he was.

Before Moana fulfilled the destiny in restoring her people's wandering tendencies, she'd allowed herself reprieve on Motunui after the long journey she'd had. With his fishhook restored to him, and in his newfound confidence in himself rather than what the gods made of him, Maui decided to accompany her on her rest.

Plus, Moana was the only mortal he'd seen in a while, and he kind of missed the usual reaction he got from them.

"Oh _Great_ Maui! Demi-God, shapeshifter, hero to all!" One of the elders commenced the onset of groveling, and soon everyone in the village was on their knees, including Moana's parents. She was still standing by the _great Maui's_ side, her arms folded across her chest, eyebrows stubbornly furrowed. Chief Tui lifted his head only to see his daughter's perceived insolence and quickly drug her by the hand until she two was showing obeisance, albeit unwillingly.

Maui felt that immediate surge of pride, remembering after so long of either being stuck on an island or being stuck with Moana, and felt as every bit powerful as his legend. "We will prepare a feast for you, in your honor. We will make it the biggest celebration this island has ever known."

Moana had finally lifted her head to give Maui another look, while her father's eyes were submissively lowered. Maui grinned at her.

"There'll be dancers, I imagine?" Maui boomed in his large voice, getting the gears in Moana's head whirring. He could read her more easily than he could read the stars, since most everything was revealed by the strong, open features of her face.

"Ah, yes! Our dancers know every one of your songs." Her father lifted his head and nudged her, after she'd dropped her head in feigned reverence. "You will dance, too." He whispered, and Maui's grin drew deeper. The thought of her being forced to dance for his ceremony was quite funny, especially when she showed obvious disdain for the drudgery of celebratory dancing. But underneath, he could tell she was excited to be home with her people. Was she glad that she'd be rid of _him_ , soon?

"For now, we'll prepare the temple for your stay. You will permit us the honor, won't you?" Another elder spoke, murmuring into the crowd before others ran out to prepare luxuries for the demi-god.

"Uhh, _yes_. I'll be taking a- -uhh, _quick_ power nap." No matter what he said, the villagers all thrummed at the sound of his words. _Even his naps are powerful,_ he heard someone whisper excitedly, and he held in a laugh through sealed lips.

He was guided to the temple, which already had a few amenities on reserve for gods that hadn't yet blessed them with their presence, including a lofty bed and offerings of fruit and drink. Once he was finally left alone, he sighed in the silence of the temple and made himself comfortable, the familiar breeze calming him into a deep slumber.

The only problem was, all of the traditional garb was in that temple, and so the flutterings of young maidens filled the halls, excitedly hushed whispers between themselves.

"I hope Maui notices me tonight!"

"Did you see how _strong_ he was, lifting that boat with the touch of a finger? _And he's so handsome_!"

He also had _very_ sharp ears, so it didn't matter that they were in a room far from his, or that they were whispering. He heard, and delighted in the way they worshiped him.

"You guys are _weird_." _Moana_. Of course she wasn't clearly as thrilled as the others. "Less talking, more dressing. He's like, _right around the corner_."

And he was getting closer. His hand gripped his fishhook and in an instant he was a fly, zooming in to perch on the wall and watch them.

 _Darn_. Moana was already clothed, adjusting the headpiece on her hair while the others took a little longer. Not that he particularly _wanted_ to see her like that, it'd be weird after spending about a month on a boat with her.

"I wouldn't mind if he saw~" giggled another, before she was promptly smacked by her friend, and more giggling ensued. Girls could be shameless, and he liked that a lot. "I hope he chooses one of us to bring back to the temple. I'd be _revered_ , bearing the son of a demi-god."

Another custom that Maui liked a lot. Elders and families eagerly offered up their women to Maui. Magical father, magical child, right? Of course, this was with full knowledge that the trickster might not ever return to rear his son, so busy with the world, but the village would aide in rearing the child, and the mother would be set for life.

"You guys are _gross_."

She'd spoken too much, and now the girls were curious. "How _is it_ that you spent a whole month with him and didn't _know_ him, in that way?"

"I _'_ m not dignifying that with an answer."

Ouch. How did they spend a whole month without doing it? Girls usually flaunted themselves at him, but Moana'd been different. She'd been a little awestruck, something she couldn't help, but her focus was so entirely on saving her island.

Which made him even more curious to find out what she was like when she was in love.

So that night, he decided to play a trick. This would have to wait until late into the ceremony, however. First, he could enjoy her dancing. He was seated at the head of the proceedings, the chief and his wife at his side, and Moana leaving her seat to join the other dancers. His songs were performed beautifully, though he could tell the other dancers were nervous. Not Moana, however. She was _fearless_. Her eyes swept over him and he felt a surge of pride and something else. If she could save the world, she could definitely dance her best without fear. Gently her fingers folded and coaxed the rhythm, her hips fluidly swirling like the tide. How could such a strong willed girl dance so prettily? Maui couldn't take his eyes off her.

But even then, she wasn't doing it for him. The second she'd finished dancing and the clapping started, she was hugging her fellow dancers and friends and chattering excitedly amongst them. She missed her people. As much as she'd wanted to adventure in the first place, she missed them. He smiled fondly, though his thoughts were still trained on the task at hand. "So, how does marriage work on this island? Is Moana promised to someone, or something?"

Chief Tui hadn't yet noticed that Moana had significantly gained Maui's favor, and he answered without hesitation, though his voice was boyishly soft. He was talking to his hero, after all. "No. She is free to marry whomever she likes."

"Hmn." Maui grunted, seemingly pleased with the others answer. Broad shoulders sunk in relief, the two watching as Moana and the few girls that accompanied her were speaking to the young men of the village. Their faces were bright akin to the same kind of light that Maui held. He knew that look very well. "Any suitors, so far?"

"There better not be!" Tui barked surprisingly fast, before his fatherly protective instincts calmed down, and he was bashfully lowering his head. "Though, I think for some time she's favored Fetu; the basket weaver's son. Ah, they're talking now." Maui couldn't see Moana now, only the shapely outline of her back as she stared up at the taller man. But he could see the reflection of her in the village boy's eyes, and the acute sight gifted to him seemed like a curse now.

" _Basket weaver_." Maui scoffed, tearing into some more pork. Chief Tui hadn't known what he'd said to displease the demi-god.

The first step would be to separate _Fetu_ from the group. With the attention on him, however, it'd be a hard feat. But they didn't write songs about him for nothing.

A little less known fact; his magical fish hook possessed further magical qualities. Not only could he shape shift himself, but others. As the entertainment continued, from more dances to exotic story-telling, Maui'd switched himself with Heihei, who in the image of Maui, cocked his head several times, eyes wide, and at one point or another slammed his face into the dinner before him. Chief Tui was horrified at the sudden change of his honorable guest, but he tried to withstand it all the same.

Maui was waiting for this basket weaver to distance himself from the crowd. Maui'd hidden himself among the coconut trees, stalking his prey. The second Fetu came away to relieve his bladder, he was quickly kidnapped and knocked unconscious.

" _Someone's_ gonna have a killer hangover tomorrow." Maui'd managed to haul the body into an abandoned hut, studying the features of the young man before adapting into the shape. He was definitely shorter than Maui, and less powerfully built. He was an average human male, Maui surmised, but he still didn't understand how this could be any better than _him_. Maui was the epitome of man.

So why didn't Moana have a goofy smile when _he_ was around?

Maui decided to see just how much Moana liked this mortal, testing out the waters as he sat down by her side, clearing his throat until her attention was piqued. She'd just slipped off the traditional headpiece, setting it to the side as she glanced at him from over her shoulder. "Hey, Fetu." The indifference Maui was accustomed to was replaced with something warmer. The two definitely _knew_ each other, and not just because they'd lived together in the same village their whole lives. Maui felt a little jealous.

"Yo." Maui- -or, _Fetu-_ -grinned handsomely, his head nodding in her direction. "Just wanted to tell you, I _definitely_ enjoyed the dance." Maui knew how to charm girls, he'd been doing it for a millennia.

Moana's face lowered a little, a small smirk tugging on her lips. "You just told me that, over there." Her voice was small and shy; whatever shyness she'd had with Maui had long gone after a day or two together. So why was she acting bashful now?

"Oh. Well yeah. Thought I'd... repeat the compliment. 'Cause it was just _that_ good." Maui covered awkwardly, seeing the smile spread on her lips. Her eyes averted, halting on a single girl. Maui followed her gaze, and heard a question he hadn't been expecting. "So, how's La'ei?"

"La'ei?" The name escaped him. Moana looked back at him like he was crazy.

"Your girlfriend," she replied dryly, watching his face freeze into an, 'oh no' expression. "Pffft. Oh, her?" Fetu shrugged his shoulders, covering up the lapse in character with a cool lie. "We broke up." Sorry Fetu, Maui had no clue.

"Ohh. I'm. Uhh, sorry." Moana looked away again awkwardly. She'd nearly refused to look him in the eye. Maui missed the challenge of her stare.

"Don't be." His hand reached for hers in the grass, squeezing its soft shape into his own. The light flickered around them, the flames' many forked tongues dancing like shadows over her skin. His eyes trailed over her freely; she couldn't judge him as Maui right now, the trickster could look all he wanted. She saw the way his eyes wandered, and the feeling of her large hand covering his was much more than she was used to. The color in her face darkened with red, and much to Maui's disbelief, when his eyes traveled up, hers were ready to meet his.

"You're acting... _really_ weird." Her voice was breathy, and he _swore_ he could feel something of a tremble in hers. Every masculine part inside him was throbbing for her.

"I am?" Maui's thumb traced over her wrist and he found her hand leaving him just as quickly, holding it to her chest as she stared at him wide eyed. Just a touch to her hand and she was already so riled up? Maui was starting to imagine how much more he could do to her, and it almost didn't bother him that it'd be _Fetu_ doing it, and not him, when she brought him back into reality.

"Fetu, you're- -I'm _flattered,_ but- -" Her fingers brushed back her hair, finding a piece to twirl in her fingers. Maui watched dumbly.

"That chapter's... _closed_." Her hand left her hair and she sighed softly, pulling on a more serious mask. "I just got back and... I need to focus on leading Motunui. Besides, what we did back then was... kinda a one time deal." The last part was muttered nervously, and Maui nearly threw himself on her in his excitement. " _What_?! What was that, exactly?" Was Moana less innocent than he'd naturally perceived? Holy shit- -

Moana looked mortified, and nervous, and strangely enough, underneath it all... she seemed a little excited. "You know, when we..." Her eyes did a little dance over the fire. "K-Kissed." _Oh_. Well kookydooks, that wasn't anything to get excited over, was it?

"Oh. One time deal, huh?" Fetu leaned back on his hands, giving the girl some space as she collected herself over the thought of 'kissing'. He'd been foolish for expecting it to be anything more. _Princesses._

Moana ran her fingers through her hair for the hundredth time, her eyes on her toes as they were nestled in the grass. Her whole body was coiling in on itself, rejecting him. He wouldn't get anything as Fetu, no matter what their history was.

"You said that chapter closed." Maui spoke, watching the way her shoulders bunched up at the sound of Fetu's voice. "Does that mean another opened?"

She looked over the slope of her shoulder, almost coyly. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, is there someone else?" He shrunk in a little on himself. "Maybe some beefy, super handsome demi-god or something?"

Her eyes widened, then narrowed, suspiciously. _Shit_.

"Just sayin'!" Maui threw the image of Fetu's hands in the air in surrender. "You're not saying _no_..." He mumbled, seeing the rise of anger in her.

"Why is _every_ one on my case about Maui?!" She cried exasperatedly, wildly scrunching her hands in her hair.

Fetu leaned back on his hands, relaxed. " _That's_ attractive."

Maui was being sarcastic; as he usually had when she did something totally _unattractive_. He'd said this to her millions of times.

And Moana _knew_ it.

The way in which she abruptly froze, staring at him, was terrifying. Her eyes were searching his, and suddenly, she wasn't seeing Fetu in them.

Maui knew when to pull out, no pun intended. "I- -gotta get back to basket weaving," he lamely excused, pulling himself up. Heihei, still possessing Maui's form, was already causing a ruckus to the festivities. 'Fetu' was gone before Moana could press her curiosity further, and she came back to the scene of the villagers trying to appease the new chicken dance Maui displayed.

Moana took her eyes off the site. She didn't need a magical fishhook _or_ a brain to know that this was not Maui, and that _Fetu_ back then hadn't really been _Fetu_. But why was Maui asking her all of those questions? Why was he as interested as the villagers about her answer?

"Stupid. _Stupid_. Shark butt." Maui was on the beach now, just as grays lighted the skies with dark. He tinkered around with his fishhook like it was a toy, because in most regards, that was what it was. He could retire to his chambers early. There'd undoubtedly be a village beauty sneaking into his bed tonight, and on every night but this one, he'd eagerly accept the offering.

But he didn't want any other beauty. He didn't want a random night of passion with a girl he'd never touch again, much less see again.

"I want _her_." He groaned to himself, rolling on the sand. "She doesn't want _me_. Who could say 'no' to _this_?!"

Moana, unrelenting, smiled. " _I could_."

His massive head of fluffy hair whipped over as he faced her, the girl's arms folded across her chest, a finger tapping her bicep.

He was still, and his lips wore a frown very quickly. "Stalking is a _liii-ttle_ over the top, even for a fan," he told her, even though he felt his face burning hotter than the sand.

"Stalking? _I'm_ stalking?!" Moana stepped closer, though unused to the scarlet that flirted with his tanned brow. "You've been stalking me all day! Listening in on my conversations, following me and using that fishhook to- -" She remembered all of the interactions with who she'd thought was Fetu, and her blood boiled. "Oh my go- -that was so _embarrassing_!" She sobbed halfheartedly, because she knew remembering this would cheer Maui immensely. And it did, as the grin returned to his face.

"I didn't know you had a thing for basket weavers."

"And _I_ didn't know you had things for _princesses_."

Ouch again. "Your dad's a _chief_ ," Maui corrected indifferently, pouting again. He turned away from her on the sand with a few wiggles of his butt. He could hear her toes scuffle forward through countless beads of sand, feel her weight on the beach as the waves lazy tempo rocked against it. She was close now, and knelt behind him in the sand.

"A _chief,_ " Her fingers were cooler than her palms as she spread them over his sun warmed back, "... whowould be very _pleased_ to have his daughter bearing the son of a Demi-God."

He turned toward her again, his hair accidentally brushing sand in her face, which was close by. She tried not to sputter or sneeze, looking him straight in the eye. "Would _you_ be pleased, Maui?" Her fingers now picked through his hair, intimately stripping it free of sand. "To... _have_ me in that way."

Was this really an offer? Maui wasn't sure how to take this. She didn't bluff unless she had the cards to back it up.

"I would," he found himself saying, because there was nothing but the truth to say to her. Moana relaxed then, her eyes dropping. Her arms wove underneath his hair and around his neck, hugging herself onto him from behind. Her chin plopped on the large hill of his shoulder.

She stayed like that, her soft, smaller body cupping around his. He kept himself still, feeling her breathing against the rippled, tense muscles of his back. She might've been relaxed and comfortable, but there was no way he could be. Up till now, he'd thought her totally off limits- -but now she was showing general interest in him? His breathing sped to a crescendo.

"Would you..." she spoke again, her voice uncharacteristically soft, like a child's, "Would you stay with me?"

Something throbbed inside him, the brokenhearted question rocking him to his core. She was supposed to know the answer, the legend of what he was, and what he was notorious for doing. Moana wasn't supposed to change his answer. But she was, without him even realizing it.

"You couldn't hack it even if you _tried_." Maui challenged, turning to her again, seeing the fullness of her forehead. He wanted to kiss the open space there, and the wrinkle that formed as she fought the challenge. "I so could."

"Could _not_. i'm big," he replied smugly, meeting her slow gaze with his own. She wrinkled her nose in distaste, opening her mouth to ask him a question he'd be more than happy to answer. So she quickly shut her mouth again.

"So then, we just. Won't do it." Her face nuzzled into his neck, selfishly declaring her nonsensical abstinence.

He made a face out toward the ocean, scoffing softly. "How're you supposed to keep me here, then?"

"With _this_." Her lips brushed a spot against his neck. A sensitive one. He shivered, his hands finally working to unwind her off of him, and down below her.

Now her hair was splayed out in the sand, her face tightened up with tension. His body, immense and powerful, lingered over hers.

"We are friends." He felt they were more than that at this point, and reiterated. "We have saved each others _lives_. I know your story, and you know all of _mine_." Each and every tattoo on his body could only be read by one mortal soul, and she was underneath him.

"But I am a man, who has openly admitted his _desire_ for you." His eyes were hard, and foreboding. "Do _not_. Take. Me. _Lightly_." He was trying to warn her, anything to ward her off of him and on toward a decent man _without_ a girlfriend or a magical fishhook. But her hands swept up into his hair and she was pulling herself up close to him, not possessing the strength to bring him down to her.

She missed.

What was supposed to be a kiss ended her in a sore forehead from inadvertently banging it into his, her nose squished by his lips, and her own left very much untouched. She released him and writhed a little bit on the sand, curled up with a pained whimper.

" _That's_ attractive." He couldn't help himself, even if she threw him another glare. He leaned downward again, his hand cupping the side of her face, tilting it from the sand. "It's like you've only ever kissed a _basket weaver_ or something."

"What's so _wrong_ with a- - _mmf~_ " His mouth was on hers, sweetly smoothing over any fight left in her.

Her small, perfectly bronzed shoulders fell back into the sand, her breast pushing upward. There was barely enough space between them, and his body brushed down over hers to dissipate it, cupping over her smaller form quite easily. His puckered lips left hers, which were still tight with the impression of a kiss. He'd briefly opened his eyes to watch her, only to close them and move in again, his unruly, coarse hair spilling around her face and neck. Her fingers gripped the sand as well as they could as she felt his lips again, and the warmth in them, making her own tremble.

When his mouth opened, she felt a natural reflex to open her own. When expecting the roughness of a storm on the ocean, came a gentle, breezy roll of the waves instead. The gentle, slowness of his open mouthed kisses tugged on her like the tide, deeper and deeper, until she was craning her neck to get a taste of him. Her face left his palm and she was eager and heady for him, feeling his thumb pull downward on her chin, parting her lips just a bit more. His tongue found hers, leisurely, like unhurried rainfall. She wanted more, but he controlled the kiss, only allowing her what he thought she could handle.

And rightly so. Just _this_ was leaving her breathless, feeling his body warm and soft and supple against her own. Her fingers tightened into curled fists along the span of his pectorals, covered in tattoos. Mini-Maui was probably clapping his larger counterpart on the back right now.

This was all second to just how much control Maui was exhibiting. Usually he'd already have his fill of a girl by now. But he was enjoying Moana, slowly, as he'd enjoyed her before when they met, or when he'd taught her way-finding. First, she was super annoying and infuriatingly stubborn. But then, that stuborness grew on him, and became so precious to him that he wanted to test the limits of it. Like with now, as she was refusing to break the kiss. Or maybe, she did that unintentionally, as she clung onto him and unknowingly whispered his name, as if calling for help.

"Yeah?" He asked her, throat clinging to his voice as his tone rang with pure need. He didn't like how desperate he sounded, but Moana seemed too out of it to really notice the vulnerability there. She looked so _pretty_ , for lack of better words at the moment, laying down beneath him. Her own face was burning hot, just like his own. Her eyes had an unmistakable film of lust over them. She probably wasn't even aware of how appetizingly good she looked.

"You'll stay." She was still panting softly, trying to catch her breath. "You wouldn't kiss me like th-that if you weren't gonna stay."

See what I mean? _Endearing_. Maui's smile stretched thin, and his forehead brushed over hers. "I'll stay."


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, it rained, and Maui was gone.

It wasn't the rainy season yet, but from the steady pouring of showers from above, it seemed to have come in early this year.

Her hut was separate from her parents', a sign of her womanhood and the independence it brought, so she thought that she and Maui could enjoy peace there together. But when she woke, it was without him. Her hair was mussed and fluffy from the frizz that came with humidity. Moana tried pushing it back from her face as she slid up from her bedding, her cheeks burning against the cool of the rain. What was she expecting to happen? He'd spend a lazy morning with her, snuggling up to her and kissing when the rain was too strong for them to do anything else?

Maybe he went back to his temple.

She opened the partition to her own strongly built hut, hearing the rain more clearly now. Moana relaxed forward onto her stomach, laying with the entrance's clothe draped over her, watching a few villagers busily make their way through the rain. A few children splashed in puddles, though their mothers warned them against the cold.

Her hand held out, letting it succumb to the rain, wondering when Maui would come back to her. Maybe he was getting fruit for breakfast. Moana lingered for an hour, then two, waiting for the rain to let up. It would not.

She ran to the largest longhouse they had, which regularly housed meetings and gatherings, drying herself off near the firepit once she came inside. Elders had been summoned; her father wore his concerned frown.

"It's a little early, for the rainy season." She gathered her hair over one shoulder, squeezing it on the hearth, smiling broadly despite the gloomy weather.

"Four months early, according to the calendar." One of the elders spoke, raising a few tools constructed out of whale bone and stone. From the grim sound of his voice, her disposition turned quiet, and serious. She straightened her body, then let her fingers come up to her hair, stroking through it in as dignified a manner as she could.

It seemed a serious enough notion to have the local _demi-god_ present.

Her eyes looked around, foolishly, because she'd never miss his gigantic face in the crowd. "And Maui's… sleeping?"

It was her father that spoke this time, quietly and gravely. "He requested one of our mid-size ships, and sought out the East in the early morning."

Thankfully, the attention was drawn from her and onto the archaic tools they'd crafted to tell time, the position of the stars and the sun, despite not being able to see them with the clouds. She gripped her hair, releasing it behind her shoulders and stepped up to watch over her father's shoulder, her fingers tentatively gripping him.

"Did he say _why_?" She asked him, quiet enough so that the busy elders wouldn't hear her concern.

He knew his daughter well, and every expression she betrayed. She and Maui had traveled across the _sea_ together, and he thought he understood their bond. His eyes met hers with confidence. "He was restless; like he was being rushed. He did not take well to the rain. It seemed as if the clouds boded ill for him."

The clouds. He'd taught her a little about the clouds and what types of storms came after them, depending on their shape. But never any that would cause him to leave. What scared him so?

She shielded her face from the rain with her hands, stepping out to look up where she hadn't before.

To her, the sky was simply dark. She squinted her eyes, blinking out the rain. _No_. There _was_ something, a dark etching in the sky, spreading like lightening across the clouds. A shadow that took form and dissolved into something else. What had he taught her about that?

For the faintest flicker of a moment, it looked like a dancer, a wicked smile emboldened with another flash of bright electricity. As soon as the image came to view, it was gone, and her father was guiding her back into the longhouse by the shoulders.

Usually the rain didn't last long enough to stop productivity. It just meant a lazy day in doors, telling stories, listlessly sulking until the sunshine returned. Moana wasn't sulking because of the weather, however. She wasn't drowning in the rain pour, but the absence of Maui. Was the rain really cause for him to leave? Was it the way she kissed? Was it because she didn't fully _give_ herself to him?

But she remembered, from when she was small, something her grandmother had told her. Her head lifted from her arms, scrutinizing a groove in the wooden pillar before her.

"Tawhiri, the goddess of wind, rain and storm. See how she dances in the clouds?" Her arms smoothly mimicked the unseen goddess, wildly smoothing out the dance of chaos.

What did Moana say back then? She couldn't have been older than ten, or twelve, gaping up at the dark, rainy sky.

"Granny! There's no one dancing… that's the lightening!" She remembered telling her, trying to squint through the rain, though each little pellet plopped onto her young face.

Her grandmother continued dancing anyway, mimicking the only storm Moana remembered from childhood. "Oh, but she _is_ … maybe you're too young. The wrath of Tawhiri does not usually make itself known to children."

"Wrath?"

"Wrath. Anger, _fury_. She expresses it in dance, and makes the ocean restless."

Moana pouted, playing with her hair, just as frizzy from the humidity then as it was now. "That's not very nice- -upsetting the ocean."

She remembered her grandmother laughing, and it made her smile, warmness in her heart. What would she tell her now?

 _Go_ , Moana. _Find him_.

"Whether he wants it or not?" Moana started grumbling to herself, sinking into her arms. She'd never had much hesitation about things until now, with her heart on the line. It'd been a Hell of a lot easier finding him to save her island. Chasing after him just to satisfy her own pride? Wasn't easy.

But she prepared herself to leave nonetheless, not surprised when her father sternly held her back.

"You _can't_ be serious." He didn't think he'd have to tell her, but he ended up doing it anyway, his features set as she scanned the horizon. She couldn't even see it, what with the sky and the ocean blurred together in endless, swirling grey. Just standing outside in the whirlwind of rain was soaking them to the bone.

"I _have_ to, Dad. Maui's out there, and _he_ can't last off a boat- -"

" _He_ is a Demi-god." Her father's grip on her tightened, and she winced. He lessened his grip and ripped his hand from her completely, his shoulders slumping in a sigh. "You are mortal. The sea will not calm, even for you, Moana."

It would yield to her, just as it had done before. It _chose_ her.

She was _special_.

She... _had_ to be. Right?

Moana was under her father's constant watch. Every day seemed to be spent indoors, and it drove her crazy. All that was left was to think about wayfinding, or _Maui_ , and _that_ helplessness drove her crazy. She found herself pacing in the hut, jogging in place, boredly weaving baskets with the others. Tales that they usually reserved for rainy days were being stretched out, some made up on the spot for lack of better entertainment. Everyone was restless, not just her, including her father.

"We have enough rations on land to sustain us..." She overheard him tell an elder, "But it will not last us forever. Our crops are being beaten down. Fishing is _out_ of the question."

She grew even more antsy by the minute. Her father would _kill_ her if he saw her even _thinking_ about taking one of the ships.

Her knees were drawn up to her chest, arms dangling over them. Her eye caught a dark spot on the inside of her wrist. A mole? No, it was dark. Like ink.

Moana scratched at it, then forgot it promptly when she was asked to watch over the children.

She'd noticed it a week later, and it'd grown to the size of a small shell, barely enough to take up a third of her small wrist. The borders of it were murky, uncertain, almost as if it were perpetually in motion. Her finger tapped it, and it wriggled from her touch, disappearing up her arm.

"WwwwHAT THE- -" She scrambled to smack the moving, black spot over herself but it escaped every which way, migrating along the caramel bronze of her skin, turning her into a joke as she wildly chased after it, much to the confusion of the others in the long hut. Her father's head cocked. Her mother rushed by her side, trying to reason with her.

"There's th-this _thing on my skin_ , but it's- -I can't grab it!" Moana's dark eyes followed it down her clavicles and between her breasts, hurriedly lifting up the lower half of her top. Her mother turned white and covered her daughter back up, moving her to privacy.

"The rain has been affecting _everyone_ , Moana. I think you just need some time alone." She reasoned softly, using one of the makeshift umbrellas to ensure their journey back to Moana's own hut was a dry one. Moana huffed in her mountain of frizzy hair, plopping onto the floor with a pout. She looked at her wrist, the spot gone. It'd been a month since the rain began, and Moana was an expert in restraining her hair into a bun. She looked longingly at the puddle that collected on her porch, staring at herself, her figure bundled up in traditional rainy weather ware.

She caught a flicker of movement on her shoulder. She looked down, seeing the small, black hand waving to her.

Moana jumped back into the hut, screeching. Two little hands were visible from what she could see on her own shoulder, and they were pulling up the image of a little man.

He comically clamored up onto her shoulder, jumping up and down as if to get her attention. She'd recognize that wily grin and wavy hair anywhere.

" _Maui_? No, mini-Maui." Moana clarified, watching him nod excitedly, gesturing down her arm. He slid down the smooth expanse of her skin like a slide, before occupying the space of her palm. She flexed her fingers and he bounced on the pads of her palm. She smiled briefly, her heart warming from the inside. She'd missed the cheeky little character.

"Maui's... left you behind, too?" She guessed, watching the usually cheerful tattoo frown, shaking his head. He transformed into the clever shape of a storm cloud, lightening striking from it.

"The storm made him leave. Is he..." Moana held out both of her palms, letting him travel freely between them. "Is he okay?"

Mini-Maui stood still, and wordlessly pointed toward the sea. East, where they'd said Maui had gone. The expressive drawing was now stoically answering her. She'd never been more scared in her life.

"You're going to guide me back to him, aren't you?" She asked him, earning a quick nod. Her body renewed itself with energy as she stood, using the cover of the rain to advance toward the encaved shipyard.

Much to her surprise, there were two figures guarding the entrance to the cave. She muttered a "Kookydooks," for good measure under her breath, wondering how on Earth she could possibly distract them away from their duty.

She approached them plainly, chest puffed out, hands on her hips. Even as the rain wilted down on her, she stuck her chin up. The guards looked at each other, then used their makeshift palm leaves as an umbrella over it. "Yes, Moana?" One chirped, as familiar with her as any of the villagers in the town.

"I think you know why I'm here." She began, sputtering a little now that she was out of the rain. She followed the two, until all three of them were underneath the shelter of the cave. However, the two brawny men still blocked her path.

"Yes. We know." The other one answered, folding his arms across his big chest. "Chief Tui has asked us not to let you through with a boat. And it's for good reason, Moana." Both of their bodies were tense with concern. They were willing to put up a fight and stand up for something they knew was right, even if Moana thought she knew better.

"But I," Moana struggled to explain this to them, before surrendering her palms. Mini-Maui danced between them, showing off to the impromptu guards the magic that'd been bestowed upon her. "He sent me this. He needs my help, I know it!" The guards' interest was piqued, they believed her, but they believed in the storm and the finality. "I'm sorry, Moana, we can't let you."

She puffed out her cheeks, and started pushing. This was ineffective, their bare bodies slicked with rain. She kept slipping from that impenetrable wall, not really doing much except painting troubled, half-amused expressions onto the guards' faces.

And then a voice, booming louder than the thunder, making both the girl and the guards jump all at once. " _Moana_! What is the meaning of this?" Chief Tui gave a single look to the guards, who stepped out of the way and soon out of sight, giving father and daughter privacy.

"I _need_ a ship." Quiet. Determined.

It filled him with such fear and anger that his body could barely process it, flexing as he tried to control himself. "How many times- - _HOW_ many times must we go through this?!" He muttered through gritted teeth, not fazing his fearless daughter.

"You don't understand, I- -"

"I _do_ understand!" Chief Tui's whole body was tense, jumping at Moana. "I know you feel you must go. But I'm not willing to lose you. I've already lost so _much_ to the ocean." Chief Tui's expression crumbled, seeing how dauntless she was, even when she knew how much it hurt him.

" _Dad_ , you won't be... losing _anyone_." She placed a hand on his shoulder, her eyes steady on his. "Just like last time. Maui and I will save the island." She pushed away from him and turned her back, heading into the cave.

"Please, don't..." She heard him say, before a flurry of heavy footsteps followed behind. It was Chief Tui, and the men he'd dismissed earlier.

"What're you?" He brought his torch forward at a speeding pace and she whisked after him, tugging on his arm to make him stop. "No, you can't burn the boats- -"

"I'm _not_ burning the stupid boats." A deep set frown. "I'm coming with you."

Moana didn't need to worry about what the village would be like without their absence. The villagers respected Sina and knew her well, her judgement was sound. "But, you're... I mean, you haven't sailed since- -"

"I know." Her father set the torch and started angling the ship toward the water with the other men. Moana got behind and pushed with him. Enough for three, maybe four. But two people could work the sails and steer, so it'd be a job for the both of them. Even outside the storm brewed violently, and Moana could feel the shaking in his shoulders. "Provisions." He commanded curtly, the men racing off to grab what they could in the short notice for the two adventurers. "What about Mom? Th-This is _ridiculous_ , Dad, you can't just up and leave her."

"She'd never forgive me if I stayed while you went off in that storm." He clumsily wrapped rope around his fist. She showed him the proper way to do it. "If you're so Hell-bent on dooming yourself, then I will be doomed with you."

"But you _hate_ the ocean... after what it did to your frie- -" Moana stopped herself, seeing the hurt flash across his expression at the sudden memory. No, it wasn't sudden. She realized he'd been shaking this entire time. His fists tightened. "The last time you left, it'd been months before you returned. I can't standby while you go out there alone. We will find him together."

Her smile shone with hope. "I _know_ we will... and then we can see what's been keeping him so busy."

"You think Maui is in some sort of trouble?" He leaned downward, collecting the gathered supplies as each man returned, more following. Soon the boat was rocking against the shore, as if the storm intensified just by knowing Moana and her father would be in the thick of it.

"Thank you." He told the men, "Take care of the island in our absence." He rolled off with more confidence than he'd showed her earlier, encouraging his people from a bleak outlook, until they were cheering for their safe voyage.

The one time previous Moana had been caught in a storm, her time on the ship had ended quickly, and she was tossed onto Maui's island. This boat seemed to take better in the roughened sea, but not without proper strength and will. Moana held fast to the stays until her arms were trembling, wind and water whipping her face until the friction and salt water burned, and she was exhausted. Even mini-Maui was shivering in the cold, wet rain.

"You're doing _so_ well, Moana."

Moana's head peered up, watching her father scramble toward her, away from his own post. How long had they been like this? She couldn't see the stars, or the sun. They'd been crazy to venture out like this and she knew it, her father knew it. He reinforced her post when she was too weary to do so, persuading her into the small makeshift shelter of the large boat's amenities. They could no longer control the boat, and Tui ducked her underneath the cover, his big, strong arm wrapped around her cold wet body. She shivered pleasantly in his embrace, feeling the confidence leaving her in slow trickles.

"This boat is too big for two sailors on _calm_ seas," laughed her father, contrastingly chipper. Seeing him like this, putting on a strong front, had her feeling even more miserable about this situation.

"Dad, 'm... I'm _sorry_ I got you into this mess, I..." she trailed off, feeling her throat go tight. His hand immediately swept through her hair, cradling her against the stormy sea. " _No_ , no. There is nothing to be sorry about. You followed your heart, my minnow." He kissed her forehead, comforting her only the way her father could.

"I really thought I'd find him. I didn't think he'd _leave_!" She was heartbroken, and letting herself feel it. Her father noticed and held her tighter against the violently tossing waves. He'd conquered his fear to help her and what good did it do if they were hopelessly lost, doomed to drown in the sea? Everything seemed hopeless without him.

 _~ ~ **Who** ~ ~_

Her eyes blinked open and she searched through the darkness, the skies and the water flashed with occasional lightning.

~ ~ _is stupid enough to sail in Tawhiri's storm?~ ~_

"Do you hear that?" She shouted to her father, wriggling in his grasp, trying to see above the hull. She strained her eyes in the darkness, seeing edges of light blur into existence.

~ ~...? _You can **hear** me?~ ~ _

Her father was watching with her, black absolved by pure light, and sun. The figure was imposing, broad in shoulders, height and stature of a man in his prime. When the shock of the brightness faded from their sight, she could see that he was walking on the surface of the water, toward them.

"It's a demon, walking on the water like that." Her father growled, the storm clearing to scattered droplets as he found his bearings, standing on his feet. She crawled from the coverage, standing up with her father's help, finding herself helplessly staring from behind his protective arm.

~ ~ _A demon that's saved his life. He can't hear me, can he?~ ~_

His lips weren't moving. Moana looked from the bright personage to her father, her hand insistently tugging him back. "Dad, he's not... I don't know _who_ he is, but he's not a demon." She saw the change in his expression, and followed his gaze. The brightness lessened, and she could see him more clearly as he advanced. Broad, but lesser than Maui, naturally. He was fair skinned, unlike anything she'd seen before. He wore a sarong, tied around his toned waist, but nothing else. His hair was unruly's like her own, like those that had come from her island. It was tied up on top of his head, out of his face.

The sun came out.

Moana could walk on the deck of the ship without swaying, the water was unnaturally calm as they confronted this uncanny stranger. She felt like she could walk on water. When he realized she was going to try, the man reached out, but a moment to late.

"Pffft! _Acckk!_ " Moana's eyes opened at the provocation of rough hands shaking her.

"Moana! What were you _thinking_?" Her father demanded, his worried face not the only one she was seeing. Beside him, dripping with salt water, was the one who spoke to her.

~ ~ _She **wasn't** thinking_~ ~

"Hey! Take that back." She pushed herself up and glared at him, unafraid as Tui was by his otherworldliness. But the aggression seemed to be gone out of the Chief. "He pulled you out of the water after you walked _into_ it, Moana." Tui explained as she squeezed the water from her hair, shivering in the pleasant warmth of the sun after not having felt it for so long. She could feel his eyes on her, but before she could point it out, her father was on him like a predatory hawk.

"And _you_ \- -who are you, that you can walk on water?" Chief Tui remembered himself as he distanced his daughter from this stranger, who stood.

Moana watched him, and softly began to speak. "His name is Fetuao. The morning star." The man's eyes shone.

"Fetua... you know him?" Tui asked, and Moana remembered the cause for familiarity. Fetu was the one she'd liked all those years ago. The one Maui had disguised himself as. She felt a sharp pain in her heart. "No, I don't know him. He just _told_ me."

"But he's not speaking." Her father reminded her, though even he spoke sense, she could still feel his voice, warm and strong. Like the sun.

~ ~ _We're wasting time. Tawhiri has the one you seek. I will take you to him~ ~_ He told her, his arms folding across his chest as he eyed her. She wasn't sure what to say- -how did he know she was looking for him? Why was he trying to help her? Fetuao rolled his eyes as if he could read her mind, cocking one hip. ~ ~ _You are Moana, of Motunui. You singlehandedly found Maui and restored the heart of Tafiti. The current's broadcasted your tale from island to island. You are a stranger to **no one** ~ ~ _The way he said it, there was a finality to it. She shuddered. Her island hadn't been the only thing she'd saved.

Chief Tui stood now between them, his eyes darting uncertainly from the two of them as they had something of a silent understanding. "Will you _please_ tell me what is going on?!" He asked, frustratingly lost.

She broke from the contact and turned to him, smiling apologetically. "He says he'll take us. To Maui. You really can't hear him? He's so _clear_." She didn't see Fetuao's face as it darkened.

"How? He'll _fly us across_?" Now that she had the luxury to laugh, she enjoyed the way her father dramatically flapped his arms. "The storm surrounds us even now. Our ship has no chance of sustaining the weather any longer."

~ ~ _We're gonna walk. Tell him that~ ~_ Fetuao stepped closer to her, as she began explaining, before his hands gathered her in by her elbows. Her father tensed, and prepared to strike him, before he saw what was happening. The glow over Fetuao intensified, his fairer forehead touching Moana's. With a single breath, some of that brightness was spilling over her. Her skin lightened to his complexion, and she felt so light, giddy enough to feel her heart leap as she looked between them. He stepped back, allowing her to progress naturally to the edge of the ship. This time, when she walked, her feet never broke the surface of the water. Her feet warmed the water beneath her, and she beamed toward her father.

"We're walking!"

Chief Tui felt his little heart strings being tugged at the sight of his happy daughter. He looked over at this silent, brooding figure, an odd thing for someone as literally bright as he was, and he saw the expression in Fetuao's eyes. "She's promised to another." Tui lied thickly.

Fetuao's eyes immediately fell half-lidded. ~ _~Don't worry. I don't burn torches for idiots_.~ ~

"You're thinking something rude, aren't you?" He grunted, taken aback when Fetuao advanced on him. Fetuao was smaller in stature, but somewhat intimidating as the enigma Tui held him as, so he was tense as he accepted the light that Fetuao spilled over him, at the small contact they shared. The sun spread through him, and he sighed softly.

"You are an outsider. I do not know you. And I do not trust you." Tui held the young man's arm firmly in his grasp, and uttered a warning, despite the trembling in his fingers. "You do anything to hurt Moana, and you will feel the crushing weight of a father's fury." His eyes burned with the fire that Fetuao had temporarily instilled in him. Fetuao's eyes widened in surprise, and something else. If Tui had seen any guilt, then, he would've taken Moana back with him. Instead, he let Fetuao go, nodding to himself. "You cannot speak, so I will take it that you accept the risks."

It took a little more for Tui to walk off the boat, struggling like a newborn foal until he found his bearings and realized that this wasn't some crazy dream. Mini-Maui was on Moana's palm as she held it out in front of her, guiding her with all smiles toward Maui. Maybe it was the sun inside her. Maybe it was the new hope instilled deep underneath her skin. They walked with some of the provisions left from the storm, Tui choosing to walk behind the two younger ones.

"You said, Tawhiri has Maui." She spoke as they walked across the water, her steps quickening as Fetuao's did. "The goddess of the wind and rain. Is she the one making this neverending storm? _Why_?"

~ ~ _Too many questions. You get one a day~ ~_ He told her, biting down a smirk at the way she huffed, then thought quietly about her question. Her father decided it was better to busy himself with his own thoughts, then ask later, instead of becoming even more frustrated about not being able to hear everything.

"Then... why are you helping us?" She caught up with him, and he felt her eyes on him. Why would she waste her question on this? He shrugged his shoulders.

~ ~ _Maui is not the only one who wishes to restore balance. And you... calmed Tafiti's fury. ~ ~_ Moana didn't think she'd get more than a simple answer, or a scathing one, but he seemed to be serious. His voice pulsed softly inside her, like a steady stream of light. _~ ~You restored the light, and drove the blackness away. If you can instill sense into Tafiti, then you can do the same for Tawhiri, as fickle as she is.~ ~_

Moana quietly absorbed this, then told her father all that she'd learned up till now. Fetuao was silent, until Tui spoke.

"Moana said she only gets one question a day." Fetuao glared at Moana, who spitefully lifted her chin up at him, before regarding her father's question. "I still don't understand your place in this. Just who are you to Tawhiri? Why does she have Maui?"

There was silence, but only to Tui. Moana's eyes widened. "Tawhiri is Fetuao's _mother_."

"Oh. Well. Even _I_ couldn't talk sense into my own mother, sometimes." Tui remarked fondly, before noticing that his daughter had stopped. Fetuao had stopped too, and he was watching her carefully. Tui looked between them, worriedly. "Moana? You've stopped. What's wrong?"

"Maui is..." Her eyes were trained on Fetuao, and even as she said it, she felt her whole world going sick and dark.

"Maui's his _father_."


End file.
